Council for Childrens Rights

Children's defense Advocacy- the council serves as the specialized juvenile publicdefender in Mecklenburg County. through a contract with the North Carolina office ofindigent defense services, which provides funding for roughly 76% of the cost of theprogram, the council's attorneys represent all children charged with crimes injuvenile delinquency court. In addition to performing the public defender role injuvenile court, the council represents every child that is facing confinement inmental health institution. as express interest attorneys, the council provides thevoice of the child and fights to ensure that the child's constitutional and statutory rights are protected. The council is the only specialized juvenile public defender in North Carolina.

Custody Advocacy- the council serves as the court appointed best interest attorney to represent the best interests of children who are caught in the middle of highconflict custody cases. Using a combination of staff attorneys, volunteer attorneysand volunteer child advocates, the council ensures that the child's voice is heardand that the judge has all the necessary information to make a decision that is inthe best interest of the child. The council receive cases through court appointmentform a district court judge; the program operates only through a court-ordered feebased on the income of the parties. The council represents only the child- not the court or the parents.

Education advocacy- the council 's attorneys and advocates sere as best interestadvocates for children who are in need of services. These advocates work in thecomplex area of special education, mental health, child welfare (abuse, neglect anddependency), public benefits, domestic violence and human trafficking. The councilreceives almost all these cases by court order through the district court, andoccasionally through community referrals from concerned parents, guardians,relatives or others who contact the council's office. the council helps clientsnavigate compels social services systems so they can receive appropriate services tomeet their needs. when advocacy or other intervention efforts are unsuccessful, thecouncil can use impact litigation on behalf of an individual child to ensure thatthe child's legal rights are protected. the council specializes in working withchildren who have complex needs in multiples social services systems, who are atrisk of languishing and falling through the cracks.